Market sustains gains as 3Q earnings season nears

Philippine shares sustained its gains with few additional points amid the upcoming release of third quarter earnings numbers.

Jun Calaycay, Accord Capital Equities Corp. analyst, said that “markets keep getting just the right dose of positive news” to sustain advances and hold above the 6,600-point line, ahead of the bulk of third quarter earnings numbers expected to be released in the weeks bridging October and November.

“Nevertheless, we can sense a degree of hesitation to make additional commitments to current equity exposures, on one hand, and an almost equal degree of hesitation to move aggressively on the sell side when rallies have been capped at a minimum,” he pointed out.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) continued to go up on Wednesday, rising a bit by 0.48 percent or 31.51 points to 6,635.11, while the wider all-shares index improved by 0.41 percent or 16.30 points to 3,997.37.

Most of the sectors also posted improvements with holding firms having the largest gain, climbing by 1.26 percent or 75.39 points to 6,055.02, followed by the property counter, which went up by 0.44 percent or 11.39 points to 2,619.37.

Industrial, on the other hand, went up by 0.47 percent or 44.02 points to 9,487.22, while financials gained 0.21 percent or 3.92 points to 1,639.71.

However, services registered some losses, falling by 0.48 percent or 9.77 points to 2,009.77, as well mining and oil, which posted a 0.19-percent dip or 24.47 points to 13,017.19.

Total value turnover was flat at P5.6 billion with advancers beating decliners, 77 to 66.

The local stock market remained flat on Tuesday, ending safely on the green side toward the end of the session amid the anticipation of United States jobs data.

The PSEi pulled off a modest recovery, although flat, on Tuesday, gaining 6.04 points or 0.09 percent to end at 6,603.60, while the wider all-shares index saw a 1.16-percent increase or 0.03 percent to 3,981.07.